If you haven’t heard, there is a very cool new Indoor Play Centre in Sydney – NUBO!

Last week my boys and I were lucky enough to be invited over for a play and some lunch and had an awesome time!

Let me start by saying what NUBO definitely isn’t. It is not one of those indoor soft play centres that have that weird sweaty smell, fraying play equipment and suspicious puddles.

Instead, NUBO is an indoor play centre that has thought way beyond the needs of a sticky 1 year old. They have created an area that is calm, clean, relaxed and a pleasure for even the grown up’s to be in!

Upon arriving at the centre you are greeted and signed in, shown the lockers for your shoes (don’t forget to take your socks) and given the option to sign up for an art class or anything else that might be running the day of your visit.

From there you are free to wander around as you please. The whole centre is in a large unit that has been divided into sections. First you will come across an area which no child can resist. My just turned 3 year old is pretty adventurous so was straight in there, climbing the ropes and zooming down the slides.

After a few turns of this they spotted what I am pretty sure became their favourite area – the ball pit. Forget those giant pits of sticky multi coloured balls. This one is fancy! All the balls are a pale blue and the area surrounding the pit is a sterile white and wood design (in fact the whole centre is like this). My boys loved this area, as it wasn’t too big and overwhelming, they didn’t find themselves drowning in the balls but instead loved jumping on the slide that landed them straight into the pit.

After a little while in here it was time for the art class we had signed up for. Upon entering the art room the boys were instructed to put on an apron and grab a seat where some paper, paint pallets and brushes had been set up. Each week the centre has a different theme to focus on and it was Planes, Trains and Automobiles during our visit. The children in the room varied from 10 months old up to my 5 year old. The younger kids were given some finger paints to spread around and the older children a chance to explore mixing different coloured paints and using stamps to make pictures. After the lesson, these were then left to dry for us to pick up on our way out at the end of the day.

Another room that the boys enjoyed discovering was the building room. This featured 3 walls that were ready to be built into using the tubes, blocks and shapes around the room. There was also a magnetic wall with some shapes to make your own pictures.

Above here were two more rooms, the first being aimed at role play where the children could, amongst other things, play “shops” or have a tea party. Next to this was an empty room that I believe will soon host Music and Drama Workshops but for our visit had a huge train track set up.

Forget huge crowds with pushing and shoving kids. We visited the centre on a Monday morning (during school term time) and there was no more than 10 other children there at any one time. I loved this as I was able to sit back a little and keep an eye on them without constantly losing sight of them amongst loads of other kids. I had originally planned on only staying 1 to 2 hours as to be perfectly honest I get bored pretty quickly just sitting watching them but we arrived at 10:30 and didn’t end up leaving until 3pm!

Luckliy they also have a small but lovely cafe. They were between menus when we visited but the new menu looks to be amazing. It has been created by Jacqueline Alwill from BrownPaperBag.com and features food that is both irresistible, delicious and most amazingly healthy!

Overall, I loved our experience at NUBO. The only downsides I can think of are the fact that in the holidays I can imagine it would get quite busy. I am not sure if they cap the numbers allowed in or not but if you are planning to visit in a busier time I would probably check this out first. For me it was also quite a trek to get to but this of course depends on where you live. I do believe they are opening up new centres around Sydney.

It’s not somewhere I could afford to go too often. My boys were asking when we could go back before we had even left! It’s not that I don’t think it’s worth the money as the quality of play and experience are exceptional however it could be a little much for regular visits. Here are the prices:

Weekdays:
Children under 2 are $10/hour or $25 unlimited per child
Children over 2 are $12.50/hour or $40 unlimited per child

Weekends and Public Holidays:
Children under 2 are $12.50/hour or $37.50 unlimited per child
Children over 2 are $15/hour or $50 unlimited per child

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I created this blog as there seems to be so much pressure out in the world - whether it be on the web, through the millions of parenting books we think we need or from fellow parents - that we need to be perfect parents.
Its not true! So lets be honest, realistic and kind.